Academic writing can be quite tedious and confusing. You are always careful not to be overly verbose or stray from the subject matter.

A thesis statement, like any piece of academic writing, can be just as tricky. Understanding the fundamentals of a thesis statement would go a long way in guiding you in preparing an encapsulating thesis.

The first step to getting this is a knowledge of what a thesis statement entails. A Thesis statement is:

• The statement of the author’s position on a topic or subject.
• Clear, concise, and goes beyond fact or observation to become an idea that needs to be supported (arguable).
• Often a statement of tension, where the author refutes or complicates an existing assumption or claim (counterargument).
• Often answers WHY or HOW questions related to the topic at hand.

A thesis statement is NOT:

• A statement of fact or observation (no matter how astute the observation).
• A statement of personal conviction or opinion.
• A generalization or overly broad claim.

For the writer, the thesis statement:

• Helps determine the essay’s real focus. What are you trying to say with the evidence presented? A thesis provides a theory to be tested by evidence.
• Serves as a planning tool. The component parts of the thesis often correspond with the essay’s topic sentences.

For the reader, the thesis statement:

• Serves as a “map” to guide the reader through the paper.
  In the same way the thesis helps you organize your paper, the thesis
  helps organize the reader’s thinking. Once a solid thesis is presented,
  the reader will understand that all of the evidence presented is in
  service of proving the thesis.
• Creates a reason to keep reading. The reader will want to discover the support behind the thesis.

If you are having trouble writing a thesis…

…ask yourself a genuine, difficult question about the topic
(usually a “how” or “why” question), and state your response, even if
you are not sure why you want to give that answer. Your response may
very well be a workable thesis, and the pursuit of proving that answer
may reveal to you more about your sources of evidence.

…think of a strong statement or observation you have made about the
subject beginning with the words “In this essay, I will…” Then ask
yourself why this observation is important, or “So What?”¹ Answer the question with “I believe this is because…” In the draft stage you might phrase a working thesis as the following:

In this essay, I plan to explain how
Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn contrasts his river and
shore scenes. I believe Twain is telling us that in order to find
America’s true democratic ideals one must leave “civilized” society (the
shore) and go back to nature (the river).

Then revise out the “I” statements. A revised version of this thesis might look like this:

Through its contrasting river and
shore scenes, Mark Twain’s Adventure’s of Huckleberry Finn suggests that
to find the true expression of American democratic ideals, one must
leave “civilized” society and go back to nature.

Writing in the Disciplines

Keep in mind that thesis statements vary depending on the purpose of the assignment (or type of essay), and also by discipline. Here are a few notes on the thesis statements and the purpose of writing in a few different disciplines.

English: “A thesis is an interpretive argument about
a text or an aspect of a text. An interpretive argument is defined as
one that makes a reasonable but contestable claim about a text; in other
words, it is an opinion about a text that can be supported with textual
evidence.”

Sciences (Biology): “A well-written scientific paper
explains the scientist’s motivation for doing an experiment, the
experimental design and execution, and the meaning of the results… The
last sentences of the introduction should be a statement of objectives
and a statement of hypotheses.”

Business: “When you write in business courses, you
will usually write for a specific audience. Your goal will be to
communicate in a straight-forward manner and with a clear purpose.”³

History: “In historical writing, a thesis explains the words or deeds of people in the past. It shows cause and effect; it answers the question why?… A thesis must change a reader’s mind to be of value. If it presents only facts or an obvious finding, it will merely confirm what the reader already believes.”

With additional information from: Writing Center